The First Day
by KM2000
Summary: The first day is for exploration. A one-shot of Anna and Jarred's first day in the Forests of Silence.


**A/N:** This story was written quite a while ago, but I didn't have the courage to upload it until now. Parts of this fic _may_ be somewhat unrealistic. I did try to make it as realistic as possible but I might not have succeeded completely. But I'll let you be the judge of that. :) It's Jarred/Anna-centric and is about their first day in First Wood. I'd love to hear what everyone thinks, so reviews would be very welcome!

The First Day

The Forests of Silence was a place filled with beauty. It was filled with more beauty than Jarred and Anna had expected of the forest that had haunted the people of Del for as long as they could remember. Jarred realised this the moment he awoke for the first time in their new home in the treetops, his arms wrapped tightly around Anna and their unborn child as if he could protect them from any dangers that would come their way. The edges of the coming dawn could be seen in the still-dark sky; instead of the usual greyness that heralded the dawn in Del, the sky was a soft pink which numbed his tongue and sent a flood of peace into his heart.

He had never seen anything like it before. It was almost as if the forest was welcoming them.

'The sunrise is beautiful here,' he heard Anna murmur against him, echoing his sentiments. 'More beautiful than anything we have seen in Del.'

'I know,' Jarred murmured back.

The first day was dedicated to exploration. It was imperative that they discover all that they could about this place they had chosen to call their home, a place filled with both hidden and obvious dangers. If they were to survive in this place, they would have to be very practical and resourceful.

Jarred climbed down to the ground and then helped Anna, for she was now too big to come down by herself. They began to walk, and as they walked they looked around themselves at the forestry and marvelled. How could this be the forest they had learnt to fear and avoid? Everything about it was beautiful, from the tall trees that creaked and swayed with the light breeze that filled the area, to the shrubs and ferns that grew in clumps on the ground, and the dim light of the sun that shone in patches through the canopy above them. It seemed almost like a dream, a dream which Anna hoped they would not wake up from.

Their eyes drank in the wonders of First Wood, fingers pointing to the most astonishing sights they had ever seen.

'Oh, look at the herbs here! There are so many! I will be able to gather some for my pastes and medicines.'

'And there are berries,' Jarred added. 'Berries and fruit we can eat, wood we can use for carving, leaves we can turn into paper or whatever else we need.'

'Have you ever seen the like?' (said Anna in response to the sight of a Silence Spider weaving a web of silk in a branch of a tree close to them.)

They had been walking for quite a while when Anna stopped suddenly. 'Jarred, listen,' she said. He looked at her to find her eyes wide with excitement. 'I think I hear a stream!'

Jarred's heart skipped a beat, both at her words and the look on her face. It was radiant with joy and somewhat else besides.

'Let us go there, then,' he said, or thought he said. He was finding it increasingly hard to speak or do anything other than gaze into those green eyes and imagine the sweet look of desire in them as he leaned forward to kiss her. And he so wanted to kiss her, right at that moment.

Anna gripped his hand and began to run, pulling him along with her. The world blurred past them in varying shades of green, with patches of blue thrown in. He felt almost as if he were soaring, especially at hearing the happiness in Anna's voice. Anna, who he had been afraid would not be able to adjust to living wild in a forest. He had never been more relieved to be proven wrong.

Then they were emerging into a clearing, or what could be termed as a clearing. Anna stopped as suddenly as she had begun, leading him into a stumbling halt. They both stared at the scene before them.

What lay in front of them was as blue as the bluest flower, as sparkling as the tiniest diamond that grew in the earth. It sounded like the wind, like hope. It was, simply put, a marvel to behold. Not even the river in Del pleased them more.

'How beautiful it is,' Anna said softly, as if she did not want to disturb the loveliness of this place. 'I did not know that such a nightmarish place could hold so much beauty. I am glad that I have had the chance to find out.'

Jarred had not known, either. When he had first thought up the idea of living in the Forests, half of him had thought that it was a foolhardy idea, reminding him of all the dangers that dwelled in the Forests. But they had no other choice about it—if they had not gone to hide in the Forests they would have been hunted down eventually by the Shadow Lord and killed. He had never suspected that this forest would be as appealing as it was.

He recalled the time before dawn ( _a full day ago_ ) with a shiver. It was not something he would want either of them to live through again. It had been a dark time, filled with chaos and confusion. There had been so many people fleeing the city that the road had become crowded. As they travelled along that road, they had come across folk who had been trampled afoot by throngs of panicking people who were also fleeing from the Shadow Lord. Jarred thought that the screams and moans of those trampled, dying people would never leave his ears as long as he lived.

They had just reached the signpost for the road between Del and Tora when the Torans' note came. When he read the brief message, despair and frustration almost overcame him. They had refused them sanctuary. Of course, it was not surprising. Relations between the Torans and the royal family were non-existent at this point, and so how were the Torans meant to give shelter to two people they did not know? But it was infuriating. He had promised Anna that they and their child would be safe no matter what happened. The paper had crumpled in his hand, so great had his despair and frustration been. Then the idea had come to him. No person ever came near the Forests. Perhaps it would be a good place to hide away.

Then, he had been filled with conviction that this had been the right choice. Now he was not so sure. Not for himself, but for Anna and their child. It would be a harder life than any they had endured in Del, and he was not fully sure if Anna minded being torn away from their old home and friends, no matter that she thought the forest beautiful beyond imagining.

He took her hand within his own—it was warm, and full of life. She smiled at him and his heart leapt.

'Anna,' he said quietly. 'Do you mind this life, truly? I know you were expecting a quiet life in the forge…'

It was true that Anna had been expecting to live her whole life within the safety of the forge cottage, surrounded by friends and neighbours. But now that it was not possible, she found that she did not mind so much that it would never come true. They had done the right thing, in giving the forge to Endon and Sharn, who were in much more need of it than they were. She could never regret it, no matter what happened to them both.

She touched his cheek and smiled at him. 'I love you, Jarred,' she said. 'What does it matter where we live, as long as we are together? Whatever happens, there will be no regrets.'

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with all the force and love within her, not caring at that moment about anything except the need that was growing within her now. The kiss was so forceful, in fact, that Anna and Jarred found themselves toppling to the ground. Anna gave thanks that the grass cushioned their landing, and that she had fallen onto her back and not her stomach. While she was not as worried, she knew that Jarred would never forgive himself if anything happened to their babe in the womb.

She did not hesitate but held him close to her and kept on kissing him—on his lips, his cheeks, his neck, his hair… With every kiss she felt both their hearts beat faster and heard their breathing quicken. She heard Jarred groan, and heard herself gasping in pleasure.

Then he drew back, and before she could make a sound of complaint he had gathered her into his arms so gently and tenderly that the desire flared in her even more. He kissed her forehead, her lips and then the bulge than held their babe, and Anna felt her body melt against him in response. Pleasure mounted in her like nothing she had ever felt before, and her voice breathed his name as if begging him, _Do not stop now!_

He did not. And as the desire and pleasure coursed through her, she thought that she was the happiest woman in the world.

oOoOo

They lay on the grassy bank of the stream for the rest of the day, holding one another and staring up at the sky. A day ago it had been ominously dark with crimson clouds; now it was a dull grey, as if even the heavens were mourning the Shadow Lord's invasion. It seemed so strange that something could feel so far away, despite the Forests being less than a day's walk from Del. Was it wrong of them to feel so happy and at peace when outside of their new home people were likely suffering and dying?

For Anna was happy. She was happy to be alive when they could have been killed fleeing the city. She was happy that they were able to find a place to hide, even though it was not what they were used to, a place where they could raise their child in peace and safety. She was happy that Jarred was holding her and the bump that was their unborn babe in his arms, as if he would never let them go. She was happy that she was _happy_.

It almost frightened her to be so happy. Too many times she had heard and seen that true happiness was too good to last. It was so in her parents' and grandparents' case, at the very least, so why should it not be true for her? In any case, she meant to snatch happiness for herself and her family wherever and whenever she could. It did not matter what would happen to them in the future as long as they had the now.

During the next hours, they spoke of many things. They spoke of the future, their hopes and dreams, their plans. They would build a home in the treetops, a cosy home made out of fallen branches and twigs which would hold themselves and their child. The home would be a safe haven for them all, a reminder of the freedom and safety they had found when they entered the Forests of Silence. And their child would grow up among the trees, cherished and protected by its proud parents, loving and knowing the forest as its parents never could. She (or he) would be a child of the forest, filled with joy and laughter for all of her days. This child of theirs would have little reason to cry—would be raised in complete happiness and the knowledge that she had two parents who loved her with all of their heart.

They did not speak of what (and who) they had left behind. Neither of them wanted to dampen their joy and relief by recalling the royal family, the forge and the very real threat of the Shadow Lord. Now it was time to look to the future—their future. It would not do to worry about far-away problems that they could not fix. Those did not even feel altogether too real, in any case. _This_ felt real—their arms around each other and the large bump between them.

Anna felt Jarred plant a lingering kiss on her cheek and smiled.

'This forest… it makes me feel something more than I have ever felt before,' she confessed. She swallowed hard before adding, 'It makes me feel so… free.'

'I feel it, too,' Jarred said quietly.

'And oh Jarred, I am glad, so glad, that our child will be raised here and not in Del. She will know that it is like to feel truly free and not at the mercy of the Shadow Lord.'

'I know, dear heart. I know.' Jarred's throat was so tight he could not say much else. Fate grant that the future would be everything they hoped it would be; he was not fool enough to assume that it would be completely without trouble and fear. But they could withstand the brunt of the troubles life might launch at them, as long as they had each other.

'I love you,' he said, meaning it with all of his heart, and more besides. 'Both of you. I cannot say how much.'

Anna leaned her head against his shoulder, and smiled again. It was the smile of a truly happy woman, and it made Jarred's heart swell to see it. She did not have to repeat his words back to him; he could see it in her eyes and how she meant it.

They looked back up at the sky and gazed into a future bright with promise.


End file.
